Memory
by chocomint0512
Summary: When Chu Ga Eul walks down the memory lane. AU. Written for the Valentine's Fic Challenge on Soeul Scribbler.


Disclaimer : I own nothing but the plot so don't sue me, please.

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It was a very fine afternoon. The sun shone its golden ray, irradiating everything on earth and making it look more beautiful. The wind blew gently, caressing everything it passed. The gentle voice of waves crashing on the shore, added the wonderful atmosphere that afternoon.

Wearing shorts and an oversized shirt, she walked slowly on the wooden path which led her towards the beach. Once she reached the end of the wooden path, she took off her sandals, holding it in her left hand and walked barefoot on the beach. She took a deep breath once she felt the soft sand tickling her feet. A smile appeared on her face as she walked again towards the shore. The place was so beautiful and she didn't want to miss the opportunity to enjoy its beauty. It's not like she hadn't enjoy her stay there for the past few days. She'd done everything offered in this place. Snorkeling, swimming, she had even gone to explore the magnificent tropical rain forests, which had been very interesting and new to her.

Beside the interesting vacation packages, she also found that this place offered something more than physical attraction. Bora Bora Island was famous as one of the most romantic place on earth. And she knew why this place so famous once she stepped onto the island. She fell in love with this place at once.

Her vacation would be ending soon, then she would have to return to Seoul and to her hectic activities. She wanted to spend her last day on the island by walking along the beach, waiting for the sun to set. It was one of her favorite scene on the beach. She took a deep breath as the gentle breeze caressed her long hair. As the wave touched her feet gently, she couldn't stop the memories of her childhood from rushing into her mind.

She could clearly see the picture of her parent and herself hand in hand walking on the beach when she was very young. She remembered the warmth she felt on her small feet every time the waves touched her feet. It was her first holiday with her parents. Her father had been an accountant in a huge company. She understood that he was a busy person, so she was extremely happy when her father was finally able to spare his time for her. Unfortunately, it had also been her first and last holiday with her father.

_A nine year old girl, wearing black dress was sitting in front of the dressing table while her mother tied her hair into a pony tail, with a black ribbon. She took a glance to her mother and she could see her red puffy eyes. "Eomma…" she said softly to her mother._

_"Hm..?"_

_"I will be a good girl. I will study hard so I can graduate from school soon. Then I will work and have lot of money so you don't have to work anymore. I will take good care of you."_

_Her mother looked at her and couldn't help but to smile to her little angel. "I know, honey. I know you will."_

_"Then…please stop crying. I'm here for you, Eomma. Don't worry." She said again and she saw her mother smile to her even though her tears escaped from her eyes._

She blinked her eyes to get rid of the tears that had started to form in her eyes. She remembered the day her mother received a phone call from her father's co-worker. They had found him unconscious on the floor, and rushed him to the hospital where she and her mother had then found out that he had brain tumor. They never saw it coming. It was hard for her mother. Since that fateful day, her mother had taken the responsibility to support their family. She worked day and night so they could survive. They'd had to sell their house and moved to a small flat.

She knew that her mother would silently cry in the middle of night when her father slept. She knew her mother worried so much about her father's health. She knew how hard her mother tried to be strong in front of her, especially in front of her father. They did everything they could to cure her father, but fate had other plans. After struggling for a year, her father finally gave up to his illness. At the funeral day, she promised to herself that she didn't want to see her mother suffer anymore. She just wanted to see her mother's smile again.

She missed that smile very much. As promised, she studied hard and had been rewarded with full scholarship to the top notch school in Seoul. When her mother had heard the news, she saw it again for the first time. The smile she missed a lot. The proud smile which adorned her face and her eyes twinkled as if saying that her hard work had been paid off. It had made Ga Eul determined to make her smile even more. Maybe that's one of the reasons why she was popular known as the Library Queen at school.

Everyone at school knew her as Library Queen simply because they would find her in the library almost every day. She would come early to school and stay in the library until the first class started. Her break time was also dedicated to spending time in the library. Everyone would tease her but she didn't care. She preferred to go home and study or help her mother rather than hang out with her friends. When she was in the university, that nickname stuck to her because some of her classmate also went to the same university as her.

She chuckled as she remembered it. She never regretted anything because without her popularity as the Library Queen, she might have never meet him.

_Click. Click. Click._

_"What are you doing?" she asked as she looked at the culprit with annoyance. He was standing not far from her, holding a camera._

_"I'm taking pictures." The person answered nonchalantly._

_She raised one of her eyebrows, "It's obvious because I see your camera. Don't you know that nobody is allowed to take pictures let alone bring a camera into the library?" she asked again._

_"Really?" he innocently asked._

_She sighed and pointed to a huge board hanging on the wall behind the librarian counter. "Can't you see that?" she asked him again._

_"Ah…that." he said as he pulled a chair in front of her and sat down, "Yeah, I can see it. So…what about it?"_

_She raised her eyebrows again and let out a frustrated sigh. "The rules in the library are clearly printed on the board. You're not allowed to bring camera in the library." She said slowly as if she was talking to a little boy._

_She saw him nod his head. He put his camera on the table, reached into his pocket and pulled out a card._

_"Here." He said as he shoved the card in front of her. She read the card which was the university press ID card. "As you can see, I'm allowed to bring my camera and take pictures in all university premises. And that includes the library." He said again to her in victory._

_"Then…are you done?" she asked, pouting, obviously not happy with the result._

_"For now…"_

_"Then, why don't you leave?" she harshly asked._

_"I can't."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because you are still here."_

_She could feel her blood boil under her skin. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to compose herself. Never in her life had she found someone with the ability to annoy her just in a mere second. "How is that related to you?" she finally asked him._

_"Because…" he said as he leaned forward, "you, the Library Queen, will be our headline this month."_

_"What!?"_

She let out a soft chuckle. She'd never dreamt that one day she would be the university magazine's headline news. She heard that she was chosen because of her academic achievement. She had been really happy knowing that people appreciated her but she didn't want to do it. It was too much for her. But he had been very persistent, following her wherever she went. Her peaceful days in the library were over from the day she met him. She tried to hide from him but found her no matter how well she hid herself.

After a week playing hide and seek, she finally gave up. When she met him and agreed to be interviewed, he dragged her to the ice cream parlor located not far from their university. They sat there and ordered their favorite ice cream while she talked about herself. It was totally awkward for her. She wasn't used to talking to someone for such a long time. It was her first time opening up about herself to someone she barely knew. She had to admit that he was not a bad companion. She felt comfortable around him. Even after his article was done, they still met each other.

He took her to the small hill and brought some books for them to read, which amused her. She never thought that reading under the big tree would be so comfortable and relaxing. They would spend hours there. Read books or talk randomly. Day by day they were getting closer to each other. He was her first best friend. She never had someone so close to her except her mother. She'd always shut herself from society and focused her mind on studying. He taught her how to live her life freely without forgetting her main goal.

She couldn't help but smile at that thought. He was sweet. Her smile grew wider as she recalled the first time she'd seen him nervous. He was always confident in everything he did. But that one day, he'd looked like a lost child.

_"Something wrong?" she asked when she saw him fidgeting on his chair. They were having their weekly meet-up at the ice cream parlor._

_"Eh?"_

_"I'm asking you, is there something wrong. You look…nervous."_

_She saw him chewing his lips as his eyebrow furrowed, obviously thinking of something. He then cleared his throat before spoke, "I…I w-wonder if…" he stopped a moment as he composed himself. "If you…would like to…to go out with me." He finally said full of hesitation._

_"Eh? Go out?" she asked casually. "We go out every week. We are even going out right now." She said again oblivious to his real intention._

_He sighed dejectedly. He looked straight into her eyes, taking a deep breath, "I like you so would you like to go on a date with me." He said in one breath._

_She blinked her eyes several times try to make sure that she wasn't dreaming. "D-date? Y-you like me?" she asked tentatively unable to hide the red tint on her cheeks._

_He nodded his head slowly as he waited for her answer._

_"Yes." She finally said in tiny voice, her face red like a tomato._

He was her first best friend who then became her first boyfriend. She didn't know why he chose her. Lots of girls in their university were more beautiful than her and they would do anything to draw his attention. But she also didn't deny the fact that she had felt great happiness that day. She hadn't realized that she had any special feelings for him. She was glad that she hadn't done anything stupid like rejecting him. Otherwise, she would end up regretting her decision for the rest of her life.

Everything he did for her was heartwarming. Their so called first date was also different from the usual she'd always heard. No candle-light dinner. No red roses. He didn't wear any suit. She didn't wear a special dress. They only wore their favorite jeans and shirt, and had carried a picnic basket which full of food he had prepared for both of them. They'd gone to the small hill where they spent their time. They just sat under the big tree, ate the food and lay down on the blanket as they stared at the sky. They had stayed there watching till the sun had long set, replaced by the moon, and then had stared at the stars in the night sky.

For her, it was enough. It was perfect. She didn't need tons of present from him. She didn't need a big flower bouquet from him. She knew in her heart that she only need him. He was the one who comforted her when she was too nervous to read the graduation announcement. He was there when she'd had her first interview. He was there when she'd panicked when her mother had fallen suddenly sick. For her, his presence was enough. His presence was her strength.

_"Eomma…" she whispered weakly, tears flew from her beautiful eyes endlessly. "Eomma…why are you leaving me too?" she whispered again, hoping her mother would listen to her question._

_"How am I supposed to live?" she asked again in between her sobs, "I'm all alone now." she sadly said as she caressed her mother's picture. She was at the office when suddenly one of her neighbors had called her informing that they found her mother unconscious on the street in front of their house and had been rushed to the hospital. Panicked, she immediately ran to the hospital but she had been to late. Her mother had passed away because of heart attack._

_She felt a pair of strong arm pulling her into a warm embrace._

_"It's alright...it's alright." She heard him whisper._

_"I-I…I'm alone now." She said._

_"No, you're not alone. You have me." He said to her. "You have me." He whispered again as he tightened his embrace as if saying that he will protect her for the rest of her life._

She snapped back to reality when she felt her eyes become teary. She shook her head to get rid of the bad memory. She remembered all he had done for her in order to help her get through the hard time. He even moved to a flat in the same building so he could check on her every day. He dropped her to her office before went to his office. In the evening he would wait for her so he could take her home. He made sure that she never felt alone. And in her heart she fell deeper for him. She knew that he was the one for her.

_"I have something for you." he said to her._

_"For me? What is it?" she asked as she looked at his eyes._

_"Close your eyes."_

_"Eh?"_

_"Just close your eyes."_

_Pouting, she closed her eyes. She felt him take her right hand and put something on her palm._

_"Now you can open your eyes." he said._

_When she opened her eyes, she saw a small jewelry box on her palm. Her heart beat faster. She wondered what was in the box and looked up to meet his eyes questioningly._

_"I can use so many words to describe my feeling to you." he started, "but I won't do that. I'll make it simple. I just want you to know that you are precious for me. I want you to be the first person I see every morning and last I see at the end of the day. I want to share every single day of my life with you." He paused for a moment to let his words sink into her mind._

_He then reached out to the box and opened it, revealing a beautiful diamond ring. She stilled for a bit when she saw the ring while his words sank in and her eyes became teary._

_"What do you think of spending your life with me and having our own family?" He asked as he went down on his knees, stretching his right hand asking for her hand._

_She looked back and forth from his eyes to his hand. Slowly, she reached to his outstretched hand and slipped hers into his. Without breaking their eye contact, she whispered her answer, "I'd love to."_

She looked down at the ring on her finger. It still looked beautiful even though she'd worn it for years. The ring had been a witness to their marriage. Married life was so different from her imagination. It wasn't easy. Mistakes happened. They argued. But the apologies soon followed sincerely. As time went by, she understood that it made the bond between them stronger.

Suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body from behind. She gasped in surprise but then she relaxed again, when she realized who the person was. She recognized his masculine scent and the warmth of his embrace.

"Did I surprise you, Ga Eul-yang?" she heard the all too familiar voice ask her softly.

"Yes, you did." She answered.

"Sorry." he said, "Am I the one occupying your mind?" he asked again.

"You are too full of yourself, Yi Jeong-ah."

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Well…you occupy only some part of my mind…" she said teasingly.

"Huh? Some? How could…" he stopped abruptly when he heard her laugh.

"I was joking, Yi Jeong-ah." She said as she turned her body a little to face him. "You have the biggest and the most important role in my life." she said again.

He leaned forward and landed a soft peck on her lips. He then pulled her into his embrace and hugged her tightly. They stayed like that for a moment, enjoying each other presence.

"This place is just so beautiful. It's very quiet and relaxing. I just couldn't help myself thinking about everything that has happened in my life." Ga Eul said.

She paused a moment before continuing, "I realized that bad things happen and we can't do anything about it. But…I also learned that there is always a rainbow after the storm. And I'm very grateful to have you by my side, holding my hand, and giving me strength. Thank you."

He shook his head before saying, "We should be grateful to have each other. We've been through so many things and we've learned from it. The future is still a mystery but we have each other to face it. And I'll stay beside you…forever."

She smiled to hear that, somewhat feeling relieved. Suddenly he released her from his embrace and she looked at him questioningly.

"Before I forgot, I have something for you." he said to her. "And close your eyes, please." He said again.

She pouted but closed her eyes eventually. She felt him move towards her and put something on her neck. She slightly moved when her skin made contact with something cold.

"Done. You can open your eyes now." He said.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked down. She found a gold necklace with heart pendant securely wrapped around her neck. She caressed the pendant gently, a smile forming on her face.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ga Eul-yang." he said and her eyes lit in excitement.

"I thought you forgot about it. Happy Valentine's Day, Yi Jeong-ah." She said with a huge smile adorning her face. "It's beautiful." She said as she looked at the necklace again, "Thank you. But you know that you don't have to give any present to me."

"I don't have to…but I want to. And for your information, I do remember today is Valentine's Day. I may not be a romantic person, like you always said, but I do remember. It's just I don't think that Valentine's Day is so special. I love you every single day even if Valentine's Day never existed, and I continue to fall in love with you again and again each day." He said and saw that she was blushing. "I love you, jagiya." He said again and she blushed even more. His gestures and his sweet words always made her blush.

"I love you too." she managed to reply.

Suddenly, Ga Eul felt a slight pull on her hand. She looked down and her eyes met up with a pair of adorable dark orbs looking at her full of excitement.

"Mommy…Mommy, I made a castle!" The seven year old girl, whose wide dimpled smile reminded her much of Yi Jeong, said proudly. She was their first born, the treasure of their life. She remembered how happy and proud they were when they heard her cry for the first time.

"Really?" Ga Eul asked.

"Yes…let's go Mommy." The little girl said as she pulled Ga Eul to follow her. Yi Jeong chuckled lightly as he followed them.

"Look, Mommy." The little girl pointed at the sand castle she made.

"Woah, this is beautiful, Mi Young." Ga Eul complimented, as she sat beside it followed by the proud Mi Young and Yi Jeong.

"That's my daughter." Yi Jeong said as he patted his daughter's head who smile broadly at him.

"She also my daughter." Ga Eul said, pouting.

Yi Jeong laughed and whispered to Mi Young, "Mommy's jealous." And Mi Young giggled hearing that. He then looked up at Ga Eul, "She is our lovely and smart daughter."

"Mommy, Daddy. One day I will make a real castle so we can live there like the King, Queen and the princess. But…"

"But…what, dear?" Ga Eul asked.

"But it will be nice if we also live with a prince." Mi Young answered.

"Prince?" its Yi Jeong turns to asked.

"Yes, Daddy. In the story, there is always a king, queen, princess and prince. Daddy is the king, Mommy is the queen and I'm the princess." She started to explain but then frowned as if deep in thought. "But we have no prince." She finally said.

After being silent for a moment, she clapped her hand and smile again. "Ah…I know! Mommy…" she exclaimed as she looked up to meet her mother's expectant eyes. "Can I have a little brother so he can be the prince?" She asked Ga Eul whose eyes widened in surprise.

"Wh-what? Little b-brother?" She stuttered and her daughter nodded her head. Ga Eul looked up and threw an accusing glare at Yi Jeong. He gave her an innocent look while mouthing I didn't tell her anything.

"Do you really want to have little brother?" Yi Jeong asked to Mi Young who nodded her head and stared at him full of expectation. "Well, if that is so…let Daddy talk about it with Mommy." He said again as he slightly winked to Ga Eul who gave him a death glare.

"Yay! Thank you Daddy, Mommy." she exclaimed happily as she looked up to Ga Eul who returned an awkward smile to her daughter.

"Are you tired? Should we go back to the cottage?" Ga Eul asked to distract her from the topic.

"Aww…but I still want to see the sunset." She said almost pleading to stay there.

Ga Eul thought for a moment before nodding her head, "Alright."

The blue sky changed its color as the three of them sat in silence. The sky was slowly dominated by an orangish hue as if the sky was lit on fire. The sun seemed so large like they could touch it, if they just reache out. They sat silently, watching as the sun slowly disappeared in the western horizon.

"Waa...It's pretty…" Mi Young said more to herself. She then crawled into Ga Eul's lap and comfortably sat while looking at the sun, yawning.

"She is sleeping." Yi Jeong said softly when he checked on her after a few minutes.

"I think it's time for us to go back to our cottage." Ga Eul said.

"Yeah." Yi Jeong said and rose on his feet. He took Mi Young into his arms carefully, afraid ofwaking her up.

"It's too bad that we have to leave tomorrow. But this is something I want to treasure in my heart." Yi Jeong said as they slowly walked back to their cottage. "I want to keep this kind of memory deep in my heart so one day, when we grow old, we can reminisce it together. Ga Eul-yang, let's make more beautiful memories together okay. What do you think?"

Ga Eul smiled, "That will be great. Thank you for bringing us here." She said since she had no objection about that. She was more than willing to have more beautiful memories with him and their daughter.

"So, what do you think about a baby boy?" Yi Jeong asked and Ga Eul blushed, her eyes widening at his question. The topic had been raised and there was no escape from it especially with the super happy Mi Young and Yi Jeong who both seemed to love the idea very much. When she thought about it herself a baby boy was not a bad idea. She expected more exciting memories with her own family.

END


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